History Main / ExponentialPlotDelay

* This is a major problem in the first two seasons of ''Series/{{LOST}}.'' Season 1 has the mystery of how to get into the hatch, and what's inside it. Season 2 has two overarching plotlines: entering the code in the Swan station and [[spoiler: Walt's kidnapping.]] All three of these plotlines suffered from the writers clearly wanting to resolve them at the end of the respective seasons, resulting in a lot of filler episodes being thrown in. [[spoiler: Walt's kidnapping]] may be the worst offender, since we get absolutely ''nothing'' on it for eight solid episodes, only for it to come back suddenly and blow up toward the end of the season (in a very controversial way).

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Averted. The two main plots are A. the TitleCharacter's plan to advance up the ninja ladder and ultimately [[ToBeAMaster reach the highest ranking possible]]; and B. The BigBad's master plan to collect 9 [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evils in a Can]] and bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. These two plots -- and the genre -- obviously and readily lend themselves to this sort of plot progression, but [[spoiler:A. For nearly all of the manga Naruto never gets to advance past even the most basic ranking, getting closer to his goal by other means; and B. The BigBad collects the first on screen, then 6 of the remaining 8 Sealed Evils off-panel and without much fanfare, and his desire to get his hands on the last two pretty much sits there in the background without dictating the plot pace at all until he finds a way to complete his plans, again, by other means]]. Then Naruto sets a main goal for 300+ episodes to bring back Sasuke, which happens to be the plot with the least advancement of any of them and [[spoiler:is effectively resolved by somebody else with almost no input from Naruto at all.]]

* The ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime follows the above formula almost ''exactly''. Originally it was working up to a conclusion, then [[CashCowFranchise it got a popularity explosion]] and the executives [[LongRunners wouldn't let it finish]].

A measure of caution must be taken when employing this trope, however. As the plot slows down, ArcFatigue may make itself felt, and if it's done particularly badly, the ChrisCarterEffect may well take hold; audiences don't like being kept hanging forever, and if years go by without the characters making any kind of meaningful progress in the main plot and the audience determines that [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption any attempt by the characters to make progress will meet with failure]], they may well give up on the work.

A measure of caution must be taken when employing this trope, however. As the plot slows down, ArcFatigue may make itself felt, and if it's done particularly badly, the ChrisCarterEffect may well take hold -- audiences do not like being kept hanging forever, and if years go by without the characters making any kind of meaningful progress in the main plot and the audience determines that [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption any attempt by the characters to make progress will meet with failure]], they may well give up on the work.

A measure of caution must be taken when employing this trope, however. As the plot slows down, ArcFatigue may make itself felt, and if it's done particularly badly, the ChrisCarterEffect may well take hold, especially if years go by without the characters making any kind of meaningful progress in the main plot and the audience determines that [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption any attempt by the characters to make progress will meet with failure]].

A measure of caution must be taken when employing this trope, however. As the plot slows down, ArcFatigue may make itself felt, and if it's done particularly badly, it may well lead to the audience [[ChrisCarterEffect giving up on the work]], especially if years go by without the characters making any kind of meaningful progress in the main plot and it's determined that [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption any attempt by the characters to make progress will meet with failure]].

All series must end eventually, one way or the other. Sadly, some series are CutShort; RealLifeWritesThePlot and it's LeftHanging because of money problems and/or DiedDuringProduction. Sometimes a series is not profitable enough to continue, but a short work is made to WrapItUp. Other series end more naturally; the A-plot is taken out of the freezer, lightly microwaved with some lead-up and given a satisfying resolution.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' has been more or less stalling since the end of the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII the third game]], where [[spoiler:Juno was released and Desmond, the previous protagonist of the game's framing narrative, was killed]]. Since then, it's been more or less stagnant.

* Some of the quest series in ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}''. The main examples are Elves[[note]]which is more of a zig-zagged example, as Mourning's End 1 advanced it greatly despite the two before and one after not doing much[[/note]], Menaphos and Morytania quest series. They started at a rather fast pace when they were released, but each installment will either grant less progress than the previous installment of the quest series or suffers from ScheduleSlip. Later though a few of the quest series have still been wrapped up.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'':

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' plays this trope series wide, as Part 1 consisted of just 44 chapters, while Part 2 clocked at 69 chapters. Part 3 then makes a massive leap with 153 chapters, which became the standard for up to Part 6 (Part 4 has 174 chapters, Part 5 got 155 chapters, and Part 6 had 158 chapters).